Wilderness Administration and Resource Stewardship; Managing Climbing Activities in Wilderness

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the availability of a draft national guidance memorandum and proposed revisions for two Service Manual chapters to fulfill the direction in Section 122 of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act governing the management of climbing activities in wilderness areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and, where applicable, the National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS). The draft guidance memorandum and Service Manual chapter amendments clarify our wilderness policy by adding explicit policy elements related to climbing routes and equipment. We invite comments from the public, and local, State, Tribal, U.S. Territories, and Federal agencies.

This is a factual description of what was issued or decided — not an assessment of it.